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July 28, 2012

Back to work

After our week of hell getting back into things, Rose ended up with two weeks off. In a nut shell? My maternity leave officially ended. There was a perfect storm of old work projects getting kicked off, out of town visitors, and a vacation planned all coupled with baby rearing. That meant that I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off to get everything done while Rose got to take it easy. Apparently what used to take me four hours to complete work wise now takes me a ten hour day. I'll get better at this work from home mom thing, I'm sure.

Rose - Post-hack on Tuesday

Due to having two weeks off and her behavior the week prior, I was prepared for a huge fight and unpleasant ride when I got to the barn on Tuesday. However, what I found was a perfectly calm and well behaved mare that didn't challenge me on anything. I was in a bit of disbelief over it, but soaked up every single uphill and rhythmic canter stride and her beautiful floating trot. We had a nice easy hunter hack warm up and proceeded to work on some transitions. After that I decided to run her through Training Level test B (because it's the only one I have memorized). It is a bit odd to me to do a dressage test in hunter tack, but I still think dressage even in hunter tack is an excellent exercise for any horse. Plus it is something that Rose is confident at doing, while learning her to develop a new way of balancing with me in a hunter position rather than dressage. Below is a video of our little dressage test.

I was delighted that our ride on Thursday was even better, and I cannot wait to get back out to the barn again next. Hopefully one day this weekend...but that will depend on our next set of house guests. It's mind boggling how having a baby brings out the visitors!

Disclaimer

This blog and the training methods presented are not intended to be instructions, and I accept no responsibility for any injuries to horse or person that might try to replicate my training techniques. This blog is simply a forum for me to share accounts of what I personally did with my specific horses to train them. Do not assume that these methods would necessarily work with another horse or for any other person, or that another horse would react in the same way as described in this blog.

I simply hope that you find this blog entertaining and inspirational, and thanks for visiting!